


Spectating

by BlueFlashbang



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Baseball, Canon Related, Canon Universe, F/F, Lapidot Week, Thought Projection, barely uses "bob" to refer to lapis and i'm really sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 05:46:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14731098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueFlashbang/pseuds/BlueFlashbang
Summary: While the Crystal Gems get ready to play baseball with Rubies from Homeworld, Peridot is overwhelmed to be watching her new roommate play alongside them





	Spectating

**Author's Note:**

> my best attempt in writing something within a canonical episode, but the pacing and editing is probably noticably different ('cause i tired myself out again with this one). I just thought what Peridot could have been thinking about Lapis (Bob) in the ep and vice versa, and then spawned this. hope you enjoy the first out of the handful of fics i'm writing for this year's Lapidot Anniversary.

Hardly anyone around the barn could calmly process about what had just happened to them a moment ago……  
THERE IT WAS, a roaming eye fresh from Homeworld, that seemed to have just came out of nowhere and putting everyone off guard as they tried retreating from it. But if it was not for Lapis’ immense strength to her water powers, then the barn, including Peridot and Steven, would have been wiped out tragically. 

The roaming eye was worn-out in front of the gems as confusion filled the air. As for the blue gem, she showed no feeling of fright or worry after she partly destroyed the gem vessel. After all, she has dealt with way worse than just a flying red sphere. But she knew that one gem with scarce specialties would have no asset to handle such an encounter, and she turned around to catch that gem fleeing from the scene. 

“Peridot…” she lightens her tone for the first time to the green gem, still able to frighten her when she turned. “Are you okay?” 

She was waiting for a simple ‘yes’ or anything to confirm wellness. But all she received was a gesture that was so unfamiliar with her.  
“I KNEW SHE CARED!!!” the green gem exclaimed in her head. Peridot stared at her with her pupils amazingly enlarged, grinning and chuckling as if she had seen a miracle right before her eyes. No, wait…Lapis wasn’t that miracle, was she? The blue gem couldn’t help but feel confused yet pleasured to see her acquaintance like this. And all she could and wanted to do now was face away and blush like she never had before, trying to ignore that Peridot was still beaming at her. 

 

But it wasn’t going to end this way. On the spur of the moment, a hatch from the roaming eye opened up and revealed a one-eyed Ruby. The Crystal Gems tried to react quickly and retreat to the barn, then eavesdropping on the unexpected visitors. Oh no, what was going on now? Wasn’t it enough that Lapis and Peridot had to get along for a whole morning, only to get their mood ruined by Homeworld? What a way to go down. 

Peridot’s anxieties came back when she thought about being annihilated by the planet she rebelled on. As for Lapis, she was at a loss for thoughts and words when everything the green gem said about being a big deal was in fact true. “You really weren’t kidding.”

The small gem was scampering out of fear in being captured back to Yellow Diamond. Even hiding underneath a suffocating box was decreed as a way of avoiding. She needed comfort, but as Lapis sat and watched her terror, she wondered what on earth was she supposed to do. She has been a terrible ‘friend’ to Peridot all day and she knew that a new comer like her would be eccentric if she approached. Distressing as the situation was going, Steven and the others were there to help instead. And Garnet had already formed a plan.  
The gems that made Garnet unfused to reveal a Ruby and a Sapphire, and initiated a plan to blend in with the Homeworld gems. On the other side of the plan, it was “keep Peridot hidden.” 

Lapis and Peridot’s bliss continued to lessen for a moment as they waited for the Homeworld gems to flee. The ocean gem stood still on one of the corners and went back to her impassive state. She overthought about her day so far, what life on Earth was like up to now. And if every day was going to be a messy and confusing escapade then she wanted to reconsider right away. The whole fiasco right now was not ending quickly than she hoped. So in the meantime, she was gawking at the anxious Peridot huddled with her other friends. 

“How do they manage to live like this…?……How does she manage to live like this…?” her vision zooms in to the green gem. “Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought you were.”

The Homeworld gems were staying, and Peridot became more fretful every minute. It wasn’t until an unexpected phase to the plan came to be;

Play Baseball.

Steven and Ruby came back elaborating on disguising as humans and keep hiding Peridot from harm’s way. It was hard to believe, but even Sapphire saw it as one of her outcomes. This could not possibly work, can it? But there was no turning back now if the Crystal Gems wanted Homeworld out of Earth in a flash.  
There still needed one more gem to make the baseball phase work, and Steven inquires the spare blue gem across the room for her participation. Lapis thought quickly about it…Well, she had nothing better to do anyway…

“This plan sucks.” 

 

Now there was no time to waste. The Crystal Gems needed to give themselves convincing looks for local, baseball-playing humans. Ruby rushed back to the other rubies while Steven refereed what could be admissible for his friends. First, he scavenged around the barn’s inventory to look for clothes for himself. Pearl and Amethyst were fitting for outdoors, and Sapphire dressed preppy for her significant other outside to be appealed by. The half-gem was feeling optimistic and anxious through the first part of the plan. But then there was Lapis…

“Lapis, why haven’t you shapeshifted yet?”

The blue gem stared down at Steven intently. “Um…first of all, I don’t know what baseball is.” she states. “And I don’t know what people who play baseball look like.” 

“I’m gonna explain how the game works when we get out, so don’t worry about it.” Steven assures. “And for the other thing…just dress in something that feels good when you’re outside.” 

“I think my clothes right now feel good outside already, Steven.” 

The quartz boy didn’t think he’d be coaching about style before the actual game. “I mean like, something you’d feel comfortable wearing while ‘running’.”

Lapis was getting mangled up with how this was supposed to work. She already felt comfortable sprinting with the dress she always wore. But then again, she was more of a flyer. Maybe it really was time to reassess her attire for once. “Hmm…Okay, I think I have an idea now.” She says. “But I don’t want anyone looking while I shapeshift....”

The blue gem walked elsewhere and concentrated on what she wanted to look like. Without a hassle, she flashed into blue light and then revealed her new attire based on what she could gather. “Huh, doesn’t feel that bad.” She says as she examines herself. Peridot was the closest gem to her and thought maybe she could give an opinion on if she looked silly or not.  
“Hey um, Peridot…” she calls and gently approaches her. “Do you think I look okay like this?”

The green gem glanced at her quickly and gasps astounded. “Oh…Lazuli, you look…uh…” she utters but tries not to choose the wrong words. Peridot observed the gem that she barely recognized was her new roommate for a moment. She felt her face flush but tried to resist showing the slightest blush on her cheeks. “Oh stars, she looks great…” she was thinking the more she stared at her. “…What was the word that I learned from Amethyst again…?”

Lapis tilted her head as she was awaiting a reply from the awestricken gem.  
“…hot.” She heard Peridot whisper.

“What was that?” 

“I MEAN…Nothing.” The green gem flinched. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Lapis says and leaves before letting Peridot say something else. “Thanks Peridot.”

 

The green gem was now isolated in the barn and kept herself busy by being the only crowd to watch the match off between the “Humans” and the “Rubies”. All the gems were surprisingly good in baseball, considering it was primitive to just swing a bat onto a ball and make it fly. No such games existed on Homeworld either. Now she and Lapis had a new reason to stay on Earth.

Speaking of which, the teams have switched positions and Lapis, or “Bob” for her human name, was first to swing the bat. The ocean gem continued to show no expression for the game and even Peridot could notice it from afar. “Us gems don’t feel tired though…” the green gem says. “It wouldn’t hurt to smile a little bit, Lazuli.” Lapis formed a stance to help her carry the bat and swing it. Then and there, Peridot’s eyes widened and blushed once more as she gazes on the amateur baseball player. There was something about her temporary form that made her want to…embrace her.

Most of the time spent was for Peridot to keep worrying about her capture. She could hardly focus on the game’s status from her pressure, but she was able to experience watching how well the gems could play baseball. All the exhilaration made her wish she could participate in the game too. Not only did it seem fun, but it would have been the perfect opportunity to improve her social skills with Lapis, who was SPECTACULAR in the game. 

She played effortlessly yet skillfully. Some call it ‘natural talent’ from what Peridot was able to grasp in Camp Pining Hearts. One of the Rubies then swung her bat and launched the baseball flying into the air. As gravity pulled it back to the grass, Lapis landed on the ground and caught it safely with her glove. 

Peridot couldn’t help herself now. “WOOOHOO!” a screech augmented in the barn. “YES, GO LAZULI!” she cheered on with a fist raised in the air. Forgetting about being vigilant from the enemy, she puts her hand back down to cover her mouth and goes back to silence. 

Lapis got up and overheard the scream from the barn. She glances afar to see Peridot’s face watching over the game, but seemed to be looking more over at her. The green gem waved her hand rapidly and gave out two thumbs up The ocean gem even noticed a bright grin that she has been getting used to all day, and could not help but maybe laugh at her dork-ish behavior. “…I thought you didn’t want to be caught.” She utters flippantly, waving back at the green gem promptly.  
“Hey pass the ball already!” one of the Rubies exclaimed.  
Lapis flinched and threw it back to home base. “Oh, sorry.” She flushed. Hopefully Peridot would not distract her from this point on.

 

…Many innings later and the Human team were losing greatly. The green gem did not want to notice that fact, and all she knew what to focus on the players’ composition. She has seen the crystal gems in battle before. The baseball game seemed like it was showcasing a toned down version of their fighting styles. Henceforth, she could care less about cheering them on. 

Lapis would come in batting the ball painlessly, or catching the ball when she is able to see it. “Aghh, I wish I could use my wings to reach the ball better.” She thought. “This clothing is the worse.” 

She positioned her bat near Ruby’s glove, awaiting the ball to hit it on its fixed spot and amble to first base. She broke no sweat and had her hands tucked in her pockets as she carried on. “This is too easy.” 

Suddenly, another brief noise came from the barn. She baulked and looked afar again, sighing to see a half of Peridot applauding and going back to retreating.  
“SHOW THEM WHO THEY’RE MESSING WITH, LAZULI!!” was what she heard. In both ways, she wanted her to stop but maybe keep going. 

 

The Humans won the game after a strong homerun by Sapphire. Lapis took one out of the final winning score while the other blue gem took the second. Admittedly, she had fun interacting with everyone despite being discomforted before. And now she along with the Crystal gems awaited Sapphire to make it to Home base.

Ruby caught the short and blue gem in her arms as she impacted her after running. The result came to them fusing back to Garnet, and the Crystal Gems went from being on thin ice to compromise. The Homeworld Rubies were now furious and decided to fuse themselves into a simply bigger, scarier Ruby. The gems were huddle together and readied themselves for a fierce battle. But before anyone could lay a finger on each other, the last distraction from the barn was overheard and a frantic green gem came out of hiding. 

 

Peridot felt a sense of heroism coursing through her when she attempted to save her friends. But embarrassingly, she was not the gem Homeworld was after. Instead it was her exhausting excuse for an ex-escort, Jasper, who just so happened to be shattered by now. ALL the gems were now in suspense, until Steven could take advantage of their short minds.  
The group of Rubies kissed their farewell to Earth and assumed the location of Neptune to find Jasper. The Crystal Gems watched their take off in the Roaming Eye for a brief moment, and headed back to the barn to rest. Lapis found Peridot walking on her side with a still anxious look.

“That was quite a brave thing you did back there, Peridot.” Lapis admits. 

“Wow, thanks.” She replies grinning. “I mean, I’m not the new leader of the Crystal Gems for nothing, you know?” 

Steven was overhearing the conversation and decides to interrupt. “Uh Peridot, you just became a Crystal Gem four days ago.” 

 

Dusk was finally coming to be, and the Crystal Gems made it home to the temple after many weeks of work in the barn. Now it lies in the hands of two gems fresh from their old life, and Lapis could easily say that she’s had better days than this. The blue gem was ambling around the barn while she stretched and yawned once in a while. She went back to leaning back-first on one of the corners and shut her eyes closed. “I guess I can finally change back to my normal clothes now.” She says.

“No wait…!” Peridot exclaims and stirred Lapis. “You uh, you don’t have to if you want…”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m…just saying that look of yours is really good on you, that’s all.” Peridot was facing down and was already having her face turned dark green.

Lapis also found herself flushed at the green gem’s compliment. “Thanks.” She lightly says. “I guess I can keep it on for the night if that’s okay.”

“Certainly.”

Peridot walked closer to Lapis and sat down, the blue gem also joining her to be seated. “Were you also that good in playing baseball before?”

“No, that was my first time too. It wasn’t too hard to play.” She answered. “Oh and, thanks for cheering for me and Steven’s friends back there.”

“I was…mostly cheering for you, Lazuli.” She grins gawkily as her face burns to a darker shade even more, even tainting it to her roommate. “…That's kind of what happens when I watch Camp Pining Hearts all night long.”

“What is that exactly?”

Peridot’s mouth dropped and gasped heavily the moment she realized her first activity with her first roommate. “Oh my stars Lazuli, we have so much to talk about tonight!” 

Lapis giggles. “There's just one thing though; you can just call me “Lapis”.”

The two gems stood up and directed themselves to the second floor. "Well then, perhaps I’ll call you “Lapis”…” the green gem thought.


End file.
